The Telegraph reports that the parent company of Penguin and the Financial Times put in a bid for the Wall Street Journal-owning company late Friday night as “a desperate attempt to scupper the creation of a powerful international rival,” say analysts. “There is some logic to a bid. Pearson wouldn’t want the Wall Street Journal to be rejuvenated by [Newscorp owner Rupert] Murdoch,” said one commentator. “Murdoch has deep pockets, if he’s willing to run it at a loss and expand in Europe and Asia, the FT’s position only becomes harder.”
Paul Bates, analyst at Charles Stanley, said: “Cost synergies are limited because of the regional biases of the two. There will be some story sharing but otherwise it’s limited.” But geographically the two would be a good fit. “They complement each other quite well. The Journal isn’t particularly strong in Europe and likewise the FT, despite pushing for years and trying to make a go of it in America, hasn’t really succeeded.